Working expectations for parents on UC

[BlackCatGreyWhiskers]

AIBU to find this really frustrating? Basically there is no expectation for parents to work until their child is age 3. So if a family has more than one child that could be several years.

Whereas maternity leave is only 9-12months.

Especially as universal credit claimants can actually get help towards childcare expenses.

I don’t understand why there is a mismatch between the employed and unemployed?

When I went back after maternity, my pay was around £1500 and my childcare £800, then after I went back with my second my childcare went up to £1200. So I earnt next to nothing for 5 years before the eldest started school.

Why are you only against the single mothers? Why not look at benefit reform as a whole?

I absolutely disagree - deserving claimants need support - those who make a choice have other options.

Agree the whole thing needs an overhaul.

No it's not, it doesn't work like that. Benefit spending has no effect on political decisions to stop funding disabled services. Stop spreading misinformation.

I am with you OP. It’s frustrating that people can’t seem to have an open discussion on this without brandishing you as selfish, or “lucky” due to being somehow better off.

People seem to get overly emotive about this, adding in their own personal circumstances. On the whole, working mothers are penalised when it comes to raising their children unfortunately and are between a rock and a hard place. You have goady posters such as @Pirating55 showing off that they’re working part time while claiming UC and have more time raising their child.

It is not a fair system, but MN has shown that there is little critical thinking and more “woe is me.” It shouldn’t be me vs them argument, it should be an open discussion and exploration about how we can make it fairer for all mothers wanting to spend more time with their children in the early years.

Do you imagine the welfare state was predicated on there being deserving and undeserving claimants? It wasn't supposed to be altruistic you know.

Of course it does. Its all from the same pot at the end of the day.

There is no "pot". The economy is not a household budget. We afford what we need to afford.

Because this thread is specifically looking at the disparity there is between working parents and mothers and those who are claiming welfare. Those claiming welfare have the benefit of spending more time with their children during maternity and postpartum periods for example, with the safety net of secure housing - whilst working parents do not and are financially pressured to go back to work…

Wouldn't a single working mother be subject to the same maternity leave as a married working mother though? She wouldn't get extra mat leave because she was single.

That depends on the measure of “need” which is narrowed when the supply can’t meet the demand. That’s exactly what’s happening in schools etc now.

it depends on the circumstances and the working arrangements does it not? If this single working mother is only working part time, then they may be propped up by the state and able to take longer off.

Also the post you’re replying to is about single mothers. Some single mothers, or indeed fathers, may be solely in receipt of benefits so there’s no pressure to return to work.

My issue, as I’ve clearly laid out and repeated over and and over - is the different expectations of one group of parents vs another to return to work after having children.

Nobody is expected to go back to work after having a child. If you choose to go back, it’s because it’s more financially expedient for you to do so. Nobody would turn a hair if you decided to become a SAHM. There are plenty of SAHMs who are not on benefits. Do you think it’s unfair that they aren’t ‘forced’ back to work? It’s got nothing to do with UC. If your mortgage was paid off, or you had millions in the bank, you might make a different choice. But nobody is forcing you to go back.

Personally @BlackCatGreyWhiskers I think the answer is maternity and paternity leave reform.

I follow a charity called Pregnant Then Screwed, and they do a lot of campaigning around this.

It's still at everyone else's expense if the state is paying for childcare though.

Which is likely to cost around the same as a low earner makes.

Correct - there is no extra maternity pay / leave . The expectation to not look for work is talking about unemployment pay and not being benefit capped.

Some people don’t have the “choice” you’re referring to. Some people must return back to work due to the financial need.

You're living in the past if you think the majority of benefits (not "welfare") claimants have secure housing.

I think it should be a level playing field for all children and education of the under 5's should be state provided like it is in the Scandinavian countries. So there is no difference in experience or cost and children are invested in and the ethos of society is everyone contributes the same. If you are on a low income you get help with the cost but it is massively subsidised for everyone as it is soon as a good investment for society. I have Danish relatives as and one is about to go to university and there are no fees unlike for my DC back in the UK!

I would consider housing benefit as a security net imo.

Nope. The lack of services is a direct result of a decade and a half of ideological "austerity" inflicted on us by the last government. They chose to starve councils of funds and cut vital services.

Yes me too - they’re brilliant.

Yes what’s the cause of austerity - a lack of funding.

I find your posts reassuring as they say that doing the “right thing” is going to pay off in the end. I’m just not sure I believe it. It feels like an unrewarding slog for the same outcomes as people who don’t bother.

Housing benefit doesn't exist any more for most people. It's paid through UC. In the majority of areas Local Housing Allowance doesn't cover the rent on available properties so needs to be topped up. Also England is about to see changes in housing law which are meant to protect tenants but in reality will result in mass evictions, property shortages and increased rents - as has happened in Wales.

The housing situation is dire.